Iowa Lottery Scammer Pleads Guilty in Multi-State Fraud Case

DES MOINES, Iowa -- On Monday, former lotto information security director, Eddie Tipton--along with his brother Tommy--entered a plea agreement with six other states including Iowa.

Eddie Tipton entered a guilty plea to theft by fraud and computer crime in Wisconsin. He has agreed to admit to ongoing criminal conduct charges in Iowa later this month.

Despite the case taking a major turn towards completion, prosecutors in the case say there is still more work to be done.

“We won't count our chickens until they hatch, and until all our proceedings are finished here in Iowa we won't call anything the end of the road,” said Iowa Assistant Attorney General Rob Sand.

The plea agreement filed first in Wisconsin is a carbon copy of Iowa’s filed agreement. Officials says even though Tipton admitted to rigging the Wisconsin Megabucks Lotto Jackpot, he is still considered innocent in the state of Iowa.

Sand says, “As far as the Iowa parts of the agreement, we have some procedures that we have yet to get through here in Iowa. Until he is in court and does that here, at this point the charges in Iowa are still accusations.”

In 2010, Tipton was accused of tampering with computers designed to randomly choose the winning jackpot numbers in Iowa. The Iowa Lottery says this investigation has proved to be a teaching moment.

“Each time an incident like this happens in the lottery, you grow a little bit and become stronger because you find more ways to put a check and balance into it,” said CEO Terry Rich.

Tipton is required to pay more than $2.2 million in restitution for winning seven lottery tickets in five states. Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas agreed not to criminally charge the Tiptons.

Tipton is due back in Iowa court on June 29th. Between his charges in both Iowa and Wisconsin, he faces up to 30.5 years in prison, which are said to be served in Iowa.